Calls for peace and flashes of anger after US and Israeli attacks kill
Iran's Khamenei
[March 02, 2026]
By CLAUDIA CIOBANU and ANGELA CHARLTON
PARIS (AP) — Three close allies of the United States said Sunday they
are ready to join forces to defend their interests in the Middle East
and stop Iran's retaliatory missile and drone strikes following the
killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as others around the
world raised concerns that the conflict sparked by coordinated
U.S.-Israel attacks could spread into a wider war.
Britain, France and Germany said they were prepared to work with the
United States.
“We will take steps to defend our interests and those of our allies in
the region, potentially through enabling necessary and proportionate
defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and
drones at their source,” their statement said. “We have agreed to work
together with the US and allies in the region on this matter.”
Massive explosions rocked the Iranian capital for a second day as
Israel's military said it was targeting the “heart” of Tehran. Iran
pressed on, targeting Israel and U.S. military bases in Gulf states.
Iranian officials hurried to plan a future after the death of Khamenei,
who had no designated successor, as some Iranians who had long suffered
from political repression celebrated.
On streets around the world, there were protests in outrage or bursts of
celebration.
Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States in the history of
the Catholic Church, said he was “profoundly concerned” about the U.S.
and Israeli strikes on Iran and urged both sides to “stop the spiral of
violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”
Allies will work with US to defend interests
The statement by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President
Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they are
“appalled” by Iran’s “reckless” strikes on their allies, which threaten
their service members and citizens in the region.
A drone strike damaged a hangar at a French naval base at the port of
Abu Dhabi, France's defense minister said. British Defense Minister John
Healey said Iranian missile and drone strikes came within a few hundred
yards (meters) of a group of 300 British military personnel in Bahrain.
Healey also said two missiles were fired in the direction of Cyprus,
where the U.K. has bases, though a Cyprus government spokesman said on
social media those reports were not valid.
Starmer said the U.K. will not join in strikes on Iran but has newly
agreed to let Washington use British bases for attacks on Iran’s
missiles and their launch sites.
Top diplomats from the 27 European Union nations held an emergency
meeting Sunday to discuss the situation and next steps for the bloc.
“The death of Ali Khamenei is a defining moment in Iran’s history. What
comes next is uncertain,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. “But
there is now an open path to a different Iran, one that its people may
have greater freedom to shape.”
Iran is urged to ‘return to your senses’
Perhaps cautious about upsetting already strained relations with U.S.
President Donald Trump, many nations, including several in the Middle
East, refrained from commenting directly or pointedly on the joint
strikes but condemned Tehran’s retaliation.
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Shiite Muslims protest against the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and
killing of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in New Delhi,
India, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Piyush Nagpal)
The 22-nation Arab League called the Iranian attacks “a blatant
violation of the sovereignty of countries that advocate for peace and
strive for stability.” That coalition of nations has historically
condemned both Israel and Iran for actions it says risk destabilizing
the region.
“Return to your senses ... and deal with your neighbors with reason and
responsibility before the circle of isolation and escalation widens,”
Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the United Arab Emirates’ president, told
the Iranian theocracy. The UAE closed its embassy in Iran and announced
the withdrawal of its diplomatic mission after Iranian strikes hit the
country.
The UAE foreign minister met with counterparts from five other Gulf
states Sunday for an emergency virtual meeting. The top diplomats said
their countries retain “the legal right to respond and the right to
self-defense” under international law.
Russia and China criticize the killing of Khamen
ei
Russian leader Vladimir Putin blasted Khamenei’s killing, which he
called “a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and
international law."
“The blatant killing of the leader of a sovereign state and the
incitement of regime change are unacceptable,” China’s Foreign Minister
Wang Yi said in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov,
according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. “These actions violate
international law and the basic norms governing international
relations.”
Wang said attacking a sovereign state without U.N. Security Council
authorization undermines the foundation for peace established after
World War II.
At least 22 people were killed in clashes with police in northern
Pakistan and in the southern port city of Karachi after hundreds of
protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate there, authorities said.
In Iraq, hundreds wore black and waved flags belonging to Iran-backed
Iraqi militias and red flags that symbolize vengeance in the Shiite
Muslim faith as they marched across Sadr City to decry the killing of
Khamenei.
Anger flashed at protests in Istanbul and among Shiite Muslims in India.
Demonstrations were also held in cities including New York, Berlin,
Paris and Vienna by members of the Iranian diaspora and their
supporters, celebrating the end of Khamenei’s rule. Some demonstrators
waved flags of the Iranian monarchy, with Israeli and U.S. flags also on
display.
___
Ciobanu reported from Warsaw. Lorne Cook in Brussels and AP reporters
around the world contributed to this report.
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